MTECHTIPS;-Crude futures settle lower as focus shifts to inventory

MTECHTIPS – Crude futures settled lower on Tuesday, as investors awaited a fresh weekly batch of U.S inventory data amid growing support from energy ministers for prolonged supply cuts to March 2018. On the New York Mercantile Exchange crude futures for June delivery fell 19 cents to settle at $48.66 a barrel, while on London’s Intercontinental Exchange, Brent lost 19 cents to trade at $51.63 a barrel. Crude prices dipped in late afternoon trade amid profit taking, as investors turned attention to a fresh batch of inventories data, which offset bullish comments from Kuwaiti oil minister Essam al-Marzouq. The American Petroleum Institute, later today at 16:30 EDT , and the U.S. Energy Information Administration at 10:30 EDT on Wednesday, are expected to show U.S. crude stockpiles fell for a sixth-straight week. U.S. crude oil inventories were expected to fall by around 2.3 million barrels during the week ended May 12. Investors’ optimism grew that the OPEC-led supply-cut agreement would be extended for a period of nine months, until March 2018, after Kuwait became the latest oil producing nation to support the idea of prolonged supply cuts